Over 100 people were arrested on a New York campus Thursday during a pro-Palestinian protest, including a prominent Congresswoman's daughter, as tensions surrounding the humanitarian crisis inside Gaza escalate in the States.
In what was the second day of pro-Palestinian demonstrations that took place both on and off the campus of Columbia University, students gathered and set up an unsanctioned tent city, which has been dubbed the "Gaza Solidarity Encampment". NYPD kept a close watch on the situation throughout the day before showing up in full riot gear and seven correctional buses around before 12:30pm and removing the student from the encampment.
"We were walking around different parts of campus to occupy that space and demand that our voices be heard," one Columbia student said. "And when I showed up, everybody had already been arrested."
Barnard College, which is one of Columbia University's undergraduate colleges, has taken disciplinary action against three students, among them Isra Hirsi, who happens to be the daughter of Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, due to their involvement in the protests. Hirsi conveyed via social media that she and fellow demonstrators at the encampment remain steadfast in their commitment to protest until their objectives are achieved.
Students were detained aboard the buses before being transported to the precinct. Among the 108 students arrested, the overwhelming majority received summonses for trespassing.
"New Yorkers have every right to express their sorrow, but that heartbreak does not give you the right to harass others, to spread hate," Mayor Eric Adams said.
The encampment was organized by a student-led coalition of over 120 organizations, including Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) to protest what they describe as the university's "continued financial investment in corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and military occupation of Palestine," according to CNN.
